Bourgogne Aligoté
La Corvée aux Moines 2020
For many years associated with the aperitif named Kir, Bourgogne Aligoté now asserts the qualities of its falvours and shines alone!
Origin
This regional appellation may be cultivated throughout wine-growing Burgundy. The appellation covers a surface area of approximately 1,400 hectares. Burgundy’s soils are clay-limestone based, but variations between villages can have significant influence on the characteristics of the wines. This is why careful selection is essential for crafting the finest wines.
"La Corvée Aux Moines" is a plot located in the lower town of Puligny-Montrachet. Here the soil is clay, giving the wine a nice roundness.
Viticulture
Grape variety: aligoté
Soils: clay.
Orientation: South/east
Surface area under vine: 0.40 ha
Pruning: Guyot system
Yield: 55 hL/ha
Average age of the vines: 52 years old.
Vinification
Harvest date: 5 September 2020.
The grapes were handpicked.
At the winery: the whole bunches of grapes were gently pressed for 2½ hours. The temperature of the must was brought down to 12°C then was immediately transferred to barrels with no settling to preserve a maximum of lees. Long fermentation using indigenous yeasts for added complexity and freshness.
Ageing
Maturation: aged for 18 months with no racking or stirring to bring out all of this wine’s minerality. A proportion of 40% new French oak barrels.
Barrels: French oak barrels that had been toasted at low temperatures for a long time to impart a subtle, delicate touch of oak were used.
Bottling
Bottling: the wine was unfined and very gently filtered before being bottled using gravity in March 2022.
Number of bottles: 2,920.
Vintage
Balanced and concentrated
The harvests happened back-to-front! They began with the reds ripening before the whites. The harvest was very disease-free but we had to eliminate sunburnt berries, especially in the case of the Pinot Noir vines as the Chardonnays had coped better with the heat. Quality was definitely good, but relatively low juice yields has resulted in Pinot Noirs with high colour and aromatic intensity. On the other hand, the Chardonnay vines produced adequate yields with a good balance of sugar and acidity. This optimal ripeness enabled us to harvest the red grapes in certain plots according to the ‘vendange entière’ approach, where stalks are fermented along with the grapes. 'Lots of lovely colour in the reds, with very high polyphenol content, firm tannins and excellent levels of acidity. Looks set to be a year with great cellaring potential. Summer fruit coulis notes definitely have the upper hand in this year’s vintage! The whites are nicely-balanced, but it’s too early to be more precise. Watch this space…’ Grégory Patriat.
Ageing potential: from 7 to 12 years.
Tasting notes
With a pretty pale color with green reflections, this wine reveals aromas of fresh almonds, lemon zest, green apples and toasted notes. On the palate, this wine reveals a very nice freshness and a very juicy finish!
